1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for bundling a relatively long article, such as a slide fastener, a touch-and-close surface fastener or a tape, with a bundling band.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,124, issued Sept. 9, 1986 to Watanabe, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,422, issued Feb. 18, 1986 to Watanabe, exemplify apparatus for automatically bundling relatively short slide fasteners as received in stack on a tray, to which the slide fasteners are discharged successively and directly from a finishing apparatus. As the prior apparatus could not be used for relatively long slide fasteners such as for tents and bed covers, it has hitherto been a common practice to make each finished long slide fastener compact by manually folding, before discharging onto the tray for bundling. This manual folding is laborious and time-consuming, and often causes the bundled slide fastener to easily get out of shape.